Winnebago County in April was named one of just 12 jurisdictions across the United States to win a one-year $188,822 grant to participate in...

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Fighting domestic violenceWinnebago County in April was named one of just 12 jurisdictions across the United States to win a one-year $188,822 grant to participate in Phase One of the Domestic Violence Homicide Demonstration Initiative grant from the Office on Violence Against Women.The goal: Identify sites for new models to prevent domestic violence-related homicides.Phase One: Assessment to determine which of the 12 has the capacity to implement.The Twelve: Each jurisdiction got one-year awards ranging from $100,658 to $200,000. They are Contra Costa County, Calif.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; Rockdale County, Ga.; Winnebago County; Boston, Mass.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Westchester County, N.Y.; Pitt County, N.C.; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; North Charleston, S.C.; and Rutland, Vt.Phase Two-2014: Just six of the 12 jurisdictions will be chosen to implement the domestic violence intervention models pioneered in Maryland and Massachusetts.

ROCKFORD - Visitors are expected in Rockford this week to evaluate the region's responses to domestic violence as Winnebago County seeks funding to implement a new program aimed at preventing homicides.

A positive evaluation could lead to a three-year, $600,000 federal grant to improve Winnebago County and Rockford response strategy for to domestic violence, one of the region's most common violent crimes.

"What we want to show is that we have a strong collaborative community response and we are able to support the training, development and implementation of the model and that we are capable of evaluating the impact it has on the community," Maveus said.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women is searching for sites to demonstrate two relatively new and promising models for combating domestic violence-related homicides. Models developed in Massachusetts and Maryland involve assessing the risk of a victim suffering further and potentially lethal domestic violence.

There is evidence the new approaches have been effective, officials said.

Visitors from the Office on Violence Against Women and the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center from Boston, Mass., among others are attempting to determine if Winnebago County has what it takes to implement one of the approaches.

Roughly two dozen homicides in Winnebago County since 2002 are believed to have been related to domestic violence.

Attempted strangulation, threats with weapons, sexual assault and obsessively jealous and controlling behavior are among indicators of a potentially lethal abuser, according to the Department of Justice. Once at-risk victims are identified, law enforcement, prosecutors, courts and social service providers take action.

In what is called the Lethality Assessment Program model, police officers in the field screen suspected domestic violence victims. When the screening process indicates the victim could be in further danger, the officer immediately calls a domestic violence hotline to connect the victim with social services.

In the Domestic Violence High Risk Team Model, a team led by social service agencies partner with law enforcement to "fast track" high risk cases in an attempt to prevent potentially lethal or near lethal domestic violence incidents.

If selected, Winnebago County and area law enforcement agencies could implement one of these models or a hybrid of both.

Page 2 of 2 - There are 12 recipients across the United States that in April each won roughly $188,822 in first-phase funding to participate and collect assessment data. These recipients, including Winnebago County, are now attempting to become one of the six selected to continue to the implementation phase.

Phase one is ongoing and it's essentially a self audit of the region's domestic violence response. It is looking at all the domestic violence response policies of the major law enforcement organizations and is assessing the community to determine its capacity and readiness to implement a new approach to domestic violence intervention.

"These models are successful in other jurisdictions and we know that implementing them will be successful," Maveus said. "We know there is research behind them and evidence to show they work. It's getting through phase one and showing we have the capacity to implement them. We know we have the need."